


Yamaguchi Week 2015

by kireiflora



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Bullying, Gen, M/M, Soul Eater - Freeform, Soul Eater AU, Yamaguchi Week 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-13
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-01 10:08:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5201873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kireiflora/pseuds/kireiflora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Collection of Yamaguchi Week fics</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 1: Stars//Freckles

**Author's Note:**

> I got sick and got behind so I'm trying to catch up before the week is over! Updates to come as fast as I can finish.

Noya had really been minding his own business, taking a break after classes before he went over to the gym, when he heard voices.

“…why you bother.”

“..’S not even a starter!”

“Who could blame…with a face covered in pimples!”

Noya puffed himself up, ready to burst in and make the bullies leave whoever it was alone, as he turned the corner. He froze for a second as he took in his teammate standing there.

Oh now it was personal. Nobody messed with his kouhai.

He dashed between the bullies. “Yamaguchi! Just who I was looking for!” he grinned at the taller leaning against the wall, “You can’t waste time if you’re gonna take down Seijou! Come on we gotta get to practice!” he tugged at his arm, ignoring the shock on his kouhai’s face. “Just imagine their faces when you steal point after point from them! That’s all the motivation you need to take them down right?” he puffed his chest out, pointing his thumb at himself, “Just like when I save it! It’s a great feeling. We can’t deny them the rush of a saved point without you Yamaguchi!”

Yamaguchi finally pushed away from the wall he’d been pressed fully against. “Okay Nishinoya-senpai.”

“More enthusiasm! Imagine Oikawa’s face when his libero fails!” he laughed loudly, before pretending to just notice the other three. “Oh, hey there! You telling my kouhai how cool he is?” he asked, tilting his head at them like there was no way they could be doing anything else.

They appeared taken aback by the entire situation, “What do you mean?” one of them finally spoke up.

“Yamaguchi is the coolest!” he said earnestly, “He’s our secret weapon! Other teams don’t stand a chance once we pull him out.” He smirked proudly. “Anyway, time for practice!” he grabbed Yamaguchi’s arm and dashed off, half dragging the taller towards the gym. He paused a bit away to catch his breath.

“Thank you Nishinoya-senpai.” Yamaguchi offered.

“Anytime!” he grinned, “It’s what I do as a senpai after all!”

“…did you mean it?”

“Of course I did! I wouldn’t lie about how cool my kouhai is!” he huffed in mock offense.

He blushed, “Thank you. Again.”

Nishinoya frowned, “Does that happen a lot?”

“Ah…” he looked away, “Sort of?” he offered.

“You should tell your senpai!” Noya huffed, “Nobody should lie to my kouhai! Any of them!”

“Yamaguchi, there you are.” Tsukishima rounded the corner, blinking slightly at Noya’s presence.

“Tsukki!” he chirped, “Sorry! Time for practice!” he darted over to the blond and started up towards the club room to get changed.

——

“Did you see the stars when the power went out last night?” Hinata asked, mostly Kageyama but to the room at large as they cleaned up. “They were so cool!”

“You’d think he’d know more about them with how often his head is in the clouds.” Tsukishima muttered, prompting Yamaguchi to snicker.

“I’m so jealous of Yamaguchi sometimes!” Hinata pouted, “Covered in stars like that. It’s hard to get freckles when volleyball is an inside sport.”

“Hinata have you been talking to Nishinoya-senpai again?” Yamaguchi called, the only reason he could see for such a line of thought.

“Huh? Not any more than normal.” He seemed to realize something, “I’m not kidding! They suit you and they’re like having the night sky on your skin! It’s so cool!” Hinata grinned widely at him, rocking on his heels.

Yamaguchi blinked in surprise before he nodded slightly. “If you say so.”

Hinata huffed at his dismissal. “I used to get them because I was always outside all day. I can’t even imagine you without them!”

Yamaguchi watched as Tsukishima’s gaze turned much more thoughtful. “It’d be weird.” He added.

Noya jumped up and thumped him on the back, “I’d think you were a different person!” he said earnestly.

Yamaguchi just blinked in confusion at his weird team, going back to cleaning.

——

He didn’t know why Tsukshima was on his doorstep, but he was. Yamaguchi blinked in confusion for a moment before he moved out of the way to let him in.

“Homework in your room.” Tsukishima muttered on his way in and Yamaguchi nodded slightly, heading up to set up.

While they often did homework together, they usually planned it ahead of time.

“…Yamaguchi…” Tsukishima tapped his pencil on the desk an hour later.

“Problem?” he blinked, trying to lean over and look.

“Not exactly.” He looked up from his work to look at his friend, “Why…didn’t you tell me?”

“T-tell you what?” he asked, leaning away and internally cursing Nishinoya. He had to have told him about what he saw.

“The bullies.” Tsukishima frowned at him.

Yamaguchi laughed, “What bullies?” he asked, “Come on Tsukki, you’d know if there were any bullies.”

“Not if you went off on your own on purpose so I wouldn’t find out.” He was leaning closer to him, tone not entirely causal anymore.

“You give me too much credit.” Yamaguchi tried to laugh it off.

“Why are you lying to me Yamaguchi?” he frowned at him.

Yamaguchi flinched. He knew he couldn’t outright lie to him like that and sighed. “I’m sorry.”

He leaned back at the admission. “I didn’t want to believe Noya. Didn’t want to believe you’d been lying to me.”

“I didn’t lie to you!” he objected quickly.

“You held back important information.”

“It wasn’t important!” he shook his head.

Tsukishima frowned at him. “What do you mean not important.” It was an angry statement more then a question.

He sighed and leaned away from the table. “Because it’s not important.”

“Yamaguchi.” He paused, fiddling with the pencil. “People are trying to hurt you. Of course its important.”

“They don’t mean anything.”

“That’s not true.” Tsukishima’s sharp eyes were on him. “You can pretend enough that even you believe it, but I know they do mean something.”

He shrugged, “I’m an easy target. That’s the only reason they bother.”

“Then don’t be a target!”

Yamaguchi blinked at the anger in his friends voice. “That’s not going to just change.”

“Yamaguchi damn it. Do you think I don’t worry about you?!” he demanded before realizing what he said and pinking slightly. “You purposefully put yourself out there to be attacked! Like you think you deserve it or something!”

Yamaguchi flinched. “It’s not like they do anything physical.” He objected.

Tsukishima literally growled, “So what?” he asked slowly.

He paled as he realized he’d misstepped. “Just that…” he sighed, “It’s just the normal for me.”

“Yamaguchi…” he seemed at a loss for words. “You can’t just accept that. You’re worth more than that.”

He blinked in surprise at him and smiled. “Thank you Tsukki.”


	2. Day 2: Tsukki//Childhood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't have the best ideas for this day so I had to give in with a short one.

Yamaguchi watched his best friend as he ignored anyone that tried to talk to him and put on his headphones at any opportunity, even digging his smaller earbuds out of his bag so he could block out the noises of class without getting in trouble. A hand always in his pocket to change the song as he wished.

It was one of those days.

Which meant it was time for him to step up. Whenever the teacher looked about to call on Tsukishima he was quick to make himself known and called on to try and spit out an answer. Anyone that looked about to talk to Tsukishima suddenly found themselves with his freckled friend butting in to ask them a question.

Yamaguchi knew Tsukishima better than anyone else. He had also taken it upon himself to be his guardian when he could. The blond was clearly having a bad day so it was his duty to keep people from bothering him. If he embarrassed himself along the way, so be it. He didn’t expect him to be good company today either, so wasn’t bothered when his headphones were on as they walked home after practice. He still talked out loud, just to fill the quiet with something. He wondered what had happened last night or this morning to cause his friends mood. Of course nothing had to have happened, he did just have bad days where he had to drown out everything else.

He felt himself grinning as he thought back on a similar day from when they were children.

——

Tsukishima had seemed off all day, and Yamaguchi wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. He’d only tried once to get him to talk to him, getting snapped at for his troubles. He was pretty sure he hadn’t done anything to cause this and decided he was having a bad day. He tried to stay out of his way but saw the way he flinched every time someone talked to him.

So he did the only logical thing to him. Plopped down next to him during lunch as normal and chatted one-sidedly, quieter than normal, hoping his chatter would at least keep other people away. He’d seemed somewhat frustrated with him at first before he glanced around the room and just nodded slightly at him.

He hadn’t even noticed he’d started getting louder accidentally, pleased with himself at helping his friend, until Tsukishima cut him off. “Shut up Yamaguchi.”

He’d blinked, taken aback in surprise. “Gomen Tsukki!” he said quickly, returning to his quieter speech, taking no offense at the harsh words.

The day had continued like that for the most part, and the next morning Yamaguchi had been waiting with little earbuds for him in case it was another bad day.

Tsukishima had looked surprised as he took them from him.

“So you can block out all the people!” he’d offered cheerily.

——

Whenever he saw Tsukishima doing just that, he felt a sense of pride at his idea still helping his best friend to this day, even if he was worried about what had put him off that day. Most of the time it was better to wait until at least a few days of it before trying to find out what was wrong. Most of the time it passed in a day and Tsukishima didn’t want to talk about it. Sometimes it was for no real reason after all, just one of those days.

Today seemed to be an okay day, sense he had taken his headphones off about halfway through their walk home. On particularly bad days the headphones stayed until they reached the point where they split, and then they were only off for a moment. Tsukishima was looking at him now as well.

“What are you so happy about?”

Yamaguchi startled before smiling up at him, “I always like when I’ve helped you out.”

Tsukishima seemed confused at the statement but not up for trying to figure out what he meant by it.


	3. Day Three: YAMAGUCHI'S BIRTHDAY

Yamaguchi had taken off early from practice, claiming he had to be early to practice his serves since Shimada had something to do tonight. Daichi had merely nodded and slapped him on his back on his way out as the team called goodbyes across the gym.

Tsukishima had watched him go with a slight frown, he’d mentioned something about maybe leaving early this morning but he hadn’t known why. “Huh. I almost thought that was about his birthday.” He muttered.

“What are you muttering about over there Tsukishima?” Tanaka frowned at him. “What about Yamaguchi’s birthday?”

He adjusted his glasses slightly.

Noya bounced in front of him. “Speak up!” he demanded.

“Yamaguchi’s birthday is in two days.” He offered, not looking at any of the team.

“WHAT?!” Hinata gasped in shock, jumping into the air. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN TWO DAYS?!” he gasped in horror. “THAT’S NOT ENOUGH TIME!”

Sugawara went over and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure we can manage something.” He told the worried looking first year.

“It’ll be the best party he’s ever had!” Tanaka shouted, pumping his fist into the air. “He won’t know what hit him!”

“Should we have it in the gym?” Nishinoya hummed in thought, hand on his chin.

“A dog park would be better.” Tsukishima muttered.

Daichi, nearby, heard him over the shouting. “A dog park?” he questioned.

He pinked slightly, “Tadashi likes them.”

Daichi grinned, slapping him on the back. “Dog park it is!” he stated to the group at large. “Anyone have any good gift ideas?”

The gym went silent as everyone went deep into thought.

“Ooh! Ooh!” Hinata suddenly exclaimed, “I have an idea! Something that will show how much we appreciate him!” he was bouncing eagerly as the group turned their attention to him.

They listened to his idea and bounced ways to make it better around for a bit.

“I can make the cake.” Ennoshita offered, once they were done. “And maybe we should do something else as well? We do have two days after all, maybe something a bit more useful?”

“Err…I might have an idea…” Asahi offered hesitantly and shrank slightly as all eyes turned to him.

Tsukishima was secretly impressed with their ideas, Tadashi certainly deserved a good birthday and this would be sure to shock him and make him feel like part of the team, and important to all of them as well. He saw several deep in thought as they wrapped up practice, still calling out ideas for the party. He wondered if anyone else would get him something separate from the team gifts. He hoped they’d be able to keep it quiet and not ruin the surprise. It would suck if he went through dropping the news only to have them ruin the plans.

——

Yamaguchi didn’t seem to have any suspicions the next morning, he looked a bit more tired actually, which was weird since he’d left early. He was happily chattering on about how his practice had gone, which made him think he’d simply practiced after Shimada had to go off and do something.

“Yamaguchi?” he interjected at a pause.

“Yes, Tsukki?”

He wasn’t sure why he had spoken up. “You…aren’t pushing yourself too hard are you?” he asked carefully.

Yamaguchi blinked and blushed slightly. “No, I just had issues with the homework last night.”

He hummed slightly in response, returning his attention to their walk.

The team acted a little weird around Yamaguchi and Tsukishima resisted the urge to hit his head against the nearest wall.

“Tsukki do you know what was up with the team this morning?” Yamaguchi asked at lunch.

“Apparently they decided to act even weirder and louder than normal this morning.” He replied, drumming his fingers on the desk.

He hummed slightly, looking out the window. “They’re a very…individual team.”

“They’re a good team.” he admitted.

Yamaguchi blinked at him in shock for a moment before smiling at him. “They sure are!”

The team managed to pull itself together by afternoon practice, so Yamaguchi seemed to have forgotten about their behavior from the morning.

\----

Tsukishima watched the time on his phone closely, message already typed out and waiting for it to hit midnight. He wasn’t even sure if Tadashi was still awake but that wouldn’t stop him from sending the text. He jerked as he realized he’d spaced out and it was now midnight, quickly pushing send and hoping it sent before the minute was up. He sat his phone on his bed and waited a few minutes for a reply from Tadashi before plugging his phone in and rolling over to go to sleep.

By the time he woke up he had a reply text, thanking him and asking if he’d had any plans he should be ready for. He told him to keep his phone charged.

When they met up to walk to school Yamaguchi didn’t seem to be able to stop smiling. “What has you excited so early?”

“Ah, last night Shimida-san told me happy birthday and gave me a little trinket. I don’t even know how he knew it was today!” he replied, “So I’m still happy about it.”

During practice Suga asked him to go do something, which of course was his part of the group gift that the others had done during lunch either day. He did it swiftly but carefully so he could get back before Yamaguchi suspected anything.

He was unsurprised to find himself and Yamaguchi to end up being the last ones cleaning, and delayed Yamaguchi a bit on their way back to the club room, letting him open the door when they got there.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY YAMAGUCHI!” the entire team greeted him, startling him nearly over the balcony.

Ennoshita was holding a covered cake, flanked by the other second years, directly across from the door. The rest were squeezed into a semi-circle around the room.

Yamaguchi couldn’t stop looking around to everyone, still in mild shock and mute.

Tsukishima nudged him slightly, bringing him back as he quickly stuttered out his thanks.

“Of course we’d do something!” Suga grinned at his surprise, “I just wish we’d known earlier than we did.” he nodded to Ennoshita, “We can have cake now, or later.”

“L-later is fine!” he said quickly. “...what’s going on besides the cake?” he asked, wide eyed.

“Lots!” Hinata jumped up next to him.

“Not that much dumbass,” Kageyama cuffed him lightly.

Yamaguchi blinked between the other two first years and blushed slightly. “Well we should get on with the plans then?” he offered.

“Follow Tsukishima, we have to gather some things.” Daichi pat him on the back with a grin. “We won’t be very long.”

Of course they were actually going to beat them there after Tsukishima led him in a roundabout way. He felt slightly guilty for not actually setting it up, but he didn’t really want to be around while someone tried to get Noya and Tanaka to cooperate and not break something.

\-----

“Tsukki, are you distracting me with a dog park?” Yamaguchi asked as they neared it.

“No. I told you to have your phone charged.” he smirked at Yamaguchi’s stunned but happy expression.

“How did you do that?”

“I just mentioned it really.” he shrugged slightly. “They just went with it.”

Yamaguchi frowned slightly, “You told them too didn’t you.”

He hummed noncommittally.

Yamaguchi snickered next to him, nudging him slightly. “You’re such a dork.”

“Shut up Yamaguchi.”

“Sorry Tsukki!” he chirped happily.

“Yamaguchi!” Nishinoya waved wildly across the park. “There you guys are!”

Yamaguchi jogged over, and Tsukishima followed slower as he watched Yamaguchi look around from a distance. There wasn’t much to it, just a big blanket the team could fit on, but it was close to a few nice trees for shade.

The cake was in the middle, set on a box and uncovered. It was an orange on the side and black on the top circle with a big number 12 in the middle and 1-11 around the outside edge, alternating orange and white, a small volleyball between the 1 and 11.

The team was milling about, interacting with the dogs nearby or lounging on the blanket. Once Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had reached the blanket, the others were quick to come back. He spied a number of bags hidden near the trees and behind backs.

“Gifts first?” Ennoshita asked, looking around the group for confirmation.

He got a series of nods and changing of positions, the ones from the trees ending up behind backs as well.

Yamaguchi watched with wide eyes, sitting down next to Tsukishima in front of the semi circle of teammates.

“Let’s start with the bigger one.” Daichi called out and Kageyama and Tanaka rose to their feet, Tanaka bringing a squishy bag behind the semi circle. There was some rustling and fussing with something on the ground and ‘No give me that!’ ‘That’s the wrong way!’ before they ended up a couple meters apart and rose on the count of three, pulling an orange banner up with them.

Tsukishima was aware of his friend slowly tensing at his side, and fully stopping breathing at the sight of a banner. He’d bet he hadn’t even read it yet.

It turned out better than he’d thought it would, though that was probably thanks to Nishinoya who had been the one to draw out all the guidelines surprisingly neat. It had taken awhile to decide what would be on it, and they’d ended up with one word like the banner Shimizu had found.

He watched Yamaguchi out of the corner of his eyes as he looked over the banner. From the proud ‘devoted’ in the middle to the little crows and volleyballs drawn around the banner. His mouth was hanging open and he stifled a snicker. Yamaguchi was completely floored, and it made his heart swell with pride. He’d caused that by telling the team.

Yamaguchi looked around the group, “You all worked on this?”

“Noya drew all the outlines.” Asahi offered, “He’s the best artist out of us.”

“But we all colored something in.” Suga grinned and gestured at Kageyama and Tanaka who swapped sides, revealing all the teams signatures.

Yamaguchi stopped breathing again and Tsukishima nudged him slightly to jolt him out of it.

“Thank you very much!” he said quickly, looking around the group with wide eyes.

The two started folding it up carefully as Noya turned around and grabbed a smaller bag, getting up to hand it to him and returning to his seat as Kageyama and Tanaka returned as well.

This was the gift the team was more worried about him liking, and they were all watching him carefully.

Yamaguchi undid the bow holding the handles together and reached in carefully, blinking as he pulled out a small bundle. After a confused moment he realized it was a pair of green gloves as he looked them over, trying them on carefully after a moment.

“The whole team worked on them.” Asahi offered at his still slightly confused expression.

Yamaguchi looked back down at the gloves in shock, mouth dropping open. “You did?”

“Yep!” Noya grinned. “It was pretty hard.”

“Thank you!” he said, looking around the group.

“We’re glad you like them!” Daichi grinned at him.

“My turn!” Hinata jumped up quickly, rushing to his stunned side and holding out a little bag, smaller than what the gloves had been in.

Yamaguchi took it and dumped it into his hand, blinking at the little key-chain of a star.

“I just saw it and thought of you,” Hinata rubbed the back of his neck, “If I’d known earlier I would’ve found something better.”

“No its fine, thank you Hinata!” he spun it around his finger nervously, “I’ll put it on my bag.” he added.

Hinata grinned widely, “I’m glad you like it! It’s great to have you on the team!”

Suga moved forward then, holding out an actual wrapped present. “Mine will be a bit more useful in the next couple years.” he admitted, ruffling his hair affectionately as he took it.

Yamaguchi blinked up at him, ripping the paper away and bursting into laughter. “First Aid Suga-san?”

“You’ll be there when those two are third years.” Suga gestured at Kageyama and Hinata, “They’ll need it.”

There were scattered snickers but neither denied it.

“It’s actually mine from my first year.” he added with a smile. “So it’s a bit sentimental as well.”

Yamaguchi looked at the book in a new light, nodding slightly.

“The second years want to go last, so Tsukishima, your turn.” Daichi smirked.

Tsukishima huffed, he’d been meaning to give it to him alone but Daichi had found out about it. He was sure this was his way of making him give it to him in front of everyone. He sighed and dug the bag out of his bag. “I thought it was fitting.” he muttered, handing it to him.

Yamaguchi blinked in confusion at his friend before pulling the paper out of the top of the bag and snickering slightly. “You couldn’t resist could you?” he pulled out what turned out to be a plush black dog covered in white stars.

He endured the laughter and teasing with minimal barbs thrown back and was merely happy Daichi didn’t know about the other gift he had.

Ennoshita shared a look with Narita and Kinnoshita as all three rose, digging into the final bag and pulling out something fairly bulky hidden by paper. Ennoshita held it as the other two ripped off the paper, revealing a trophy. It was a small volleyball on a short stand, and Ennoshita handed it to a very confused Yamaguchi.

“It’s for fighting spirit.” Kinnoshita supplied. “You went out of your way to find someone out of club on your own time to gain a weapon so you could be on the court.”

Yamaguchi was still shocked into silence as he stared at the trophy, which had his name and ‘fighting spirit’ engraved onto the base.

“I think they broke him.” Nishinoya snickered slightly, receiving a mix of shushing and stifled snickers.

Tsukishima blinked slightly as he realized Yamaguchi was actually crying.

“Ah!” Hinata squeaked, “Yamaguchi!” his hands hovered over his shoulders. “Are you okay?”

He nodded, wiping his face off. “It’s just...a lot.”

They only managed to spend a couple hours at the park, but Yamaguchi was smiling the whole time so the team considered it a success as they split up to head home, Yamaguchi burdened with bags.

Tsukishima waited until they were at Yamaguchi’s house before speaking up. “I have something else for you.”

Yamaguchi looked up at him for a moment before returning his attention to making sure he didn’t drop the bags. “Something else?”

“Check your email when you get in.” he replied.

He nodded slightly, “You’ll have to get the door for me.” he laughed slightly. “I can’t believe they got me so much…”

He moved out of the way as he opened the door, “It’s not surprising. They all like you.”

“They wouldn’t have done anything if it wasn’t for you Tsukki.” he replied, gently dropping the bags onto his couch. “Don’t pretend you didn’t do it on purpose either, I know you better than that.”

“I wanted you to have a good birthday.” he shrugged slightly, “I thought they would be able to do that.”

“Thank you again Tsukki.” he replied, moving over and giving him a quick hug. “It was a great day.”

“I’m sure you have plans still.”

He nodded slightly, “Dinner, you’re free to come of course.”

He shook his head slightly, he’d been around enough people today for him.

“Okay, see you tomorrow Tsukki!”

He smiled slightly at him, “See you.” he turned and headed back out, keeping his shocked face in his mind. He was sure he’d get a text whenever he got around to checking his email. It wasn’t much really, just a playlist of songs that made him think of him or that he knew he liked. He would probably be confused at it, but he’d spent too much time on it to back out of sending it at the last second like he nearly did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if there's some weird formatting, I did it between computers on different programs so the copying might not have worked exactly right.


	4. Jumpfloat//Victory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well today was the Akiteru episode and this inclufdes Akiteru so it kinda goes together.

Yamaguchi stared in shock as the ball hit the floor on the other side of the court. That was their match point. He’d hit it. That was his server that won the game. He didn’t even hear his teammates screaming, still staring at that spot on the floor.

He was pulled out of his shock by his teammates tackling him as he struggled to remain on his feet.

“YAMAGUCHI!!!” he couldn’t even tell who was screaming in his ear as he looked around his teammates. He felt several hands ruffling his hair and he smiled at his team. They’d won. Thanks to him, partly at least.

He was overwhelmed, he hadn’t expected it to feel so overwhelming. Though that might have more to do with it being a match point than a successful serve. He was also proud, blushing under all the attention and not sure what to do with himself. He let the team corral him towards the bus, where they all quickly fell asleep on the way home.

\----

He didn’t know what he was expecting as he got off the bus, but it was not Shimada holding a cake. He’d woken up and made his way to the front as the bus slowed down, and now the rest of the team was trapped behind him but he couldn’t move for a few seconds.

“Welcome back!” he grinned as Yamaguchi finally found his feet and stumbled off the bus. “Ukai told me.” he offered at his confused look.

The team was rubbing sleep out of their eyes when they noticed the cake and Noya and Tanaka jumped towards it, held back by a sleepy Asahi holding back a yawn.

“Cake after real food.” Ukai huffed, pushing through the team and taking the cake, holding it away from the pair who looked ready to tackle him for it.

There was a murmur of agreement as they followed him to the gym for the meeting, moving onto his store after, spurned on by the promise of food.

Once arriving the team got more energetic, happily digging into what was available.

Yamaguchi stopped mid bite when he thought he saw someone, and excused himself to the bathroom to investigate.

“Aw you saw me.”

“Akiteru…” he wasn’t sure how to greet him, so he settled on smiling at him.

“I won’t stay.” he assured him, “I just wanted to give you my congratulations.”

“How did you even know?” it wasn’t like it’d been televised or something.

“Kei told mom.” he admitted, “I remember helping you with your basic serve, and I’m glad to hear you’ve gone beyond that and gotten good at it.” he grinned, ruffling his hair. “Jump floater is pretty amazing.”

“T-thank you.” he blushed under the praise of an older brother figure.

“I’ll leave before I make things awkward.” he smiled and waved as he headed out. “It was nice to see you again.”

He rejoined the team even happier if that was possible. He tried to hide it so Tsukishima wouldn’t have any reason to think his brother had shown up, as unlikely as that was to begin with.

The cake wasn’t as good as the one he’d had on his birthday, but it was still delicious and it was a full team that stumbled off towards their homes.

“Yamaguchi.”

“Yeah Tsukki?”

“It shouldn’t be a surprise.” he replied with a slight shrug.

Yamaguchi laughed slightly, recalling the first time he’d said that. “Maybe not but it’s still a great feeling.”

He nodded, “You deserve that.”

He nudged him slightly, “You deserve to get off some cool blocks too you know.” he teased.

“Shut up Yamaguchi.”

“Right, you’re cool enough.” he laughed slightly. “Sorry Tsukki.” 


	5. Day 5:  Teammates//Crows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun with this one.

Once he’d gotten to Karasuno and met the team, they really struck them like their namesake. Like they were crows. He found himself thinking about it late at night as he tried to sketch for the heck of it. Latching onto the thought and thinking about what would be different about all of them if they were crows. How he would know which was which even if they were identical birds.

He started sketching without really realizing it, getting a crow on the paper and tapping his pencil in thought. He added a couple of stuck up feathers at the front for Nishinoya and frowned. It was obviously Nishinoya. He wanted it to be more subtle. He erased them and frowned in thought. He put Nishinoya out of his head and thought of who else he could do. He could do a slightly skewed feather for Kageyama, he had that one bit of hair that went off to the side and he didn’t think many people noticed it. He gave it a try and nodded, subtle but obvious as well.

He started again in a corner, trying a different pose and tilted his head in thought. Hinata next? He didn’t want to make it a puffed up bird, but maybe something in the eyes? Hinata got that kind of look in his eyes sometimes.

An hour later and he had to give in, he couldn’t capture that look Hinata got. What else then. Maybe his feathers shine like the sun like Hinata tends to? He went back over the feathers, adding a lot of highlights to give the illusion of shine. That seemed to work. The eyes were messed up from all his scribbling so he drew a new pair off to the side. That was Hinata alright.

He drew a stern looking bird and that was almost all it needed to be Daichi. He messed with the pattern of feathers to make him look a bit older, a hint of grey here and there.

Which led him to Suga, the obvious would be to make it grey all over but of course he wanted subtle. A more concerned looking bird formed with a lot of hints of grey, the beak duller but talons sharper.

He had one more corner to work with and added a bird mid dive, looking as energetic as Nishinoya always was, with slightly open wings, also focused on whatever he was looking at like he got when he was on the court. He added a tiny shine of grey on his forehead and nodded, flipping pages.

Tanaka himself wasn’t subtle so he didn’t feel his bird needed to be, and gave it a puffed up pose and thinning feathers on the top of its head. He laughed slightly at it but it seemed to show Tanaka pretty well. The other half of the page was going to be Asahi he decided. Drawing a much bigger bird than all the others, but a timid looking one, with some feathers out of place from constant stress and fear. It was big but trying to look smaller, hunched on itself but with a sharp beak and strong talons, clutching a thick branch tightly.

He nodded, satisfied as he turned to the next page. The other three second years, himself, and Tsukishima were all that were left. He decided to give the second years their own page and started sketching them a fair distance apart, but also looking like they might be sharing a secret between birds. Ennoshita had a sharper look in his eyes, good at spotting things like his dream of making movies would require. Narita looked slightly stressed, and Kinnoshita looked secretly amused but relaxed at the same time.

He flipped the page. Tsukishima next. No glasses rings around the eyes or anything like that for sure. Nor would drawing an elongated bird, that would just look cartoonish. Could he draw a haughty looking bird? Might as well try he decided with a shrug. He was fairly successful, making it stand up as tall as it could looking down the page. He snickered slightly and added the faintest rings around its eyes, he held it at arms length and couldn’t barely make it out knowing it was there. He grinned and turned his attention to the next page.

He frowned slightly, not able to come up with much of anything. He flipped back to Kageyama, changing the pose slightly to seem more like Kageyama, looking between all the birds thoughtfully. With a shrug he started drawing again, erasing often as he tried to find the right pose. He had a sudden inspiration with a bird landing outside and quickly drew a bird about to land on a branch. It seemed to fit and he tilted his head in thought. He was left with the obvious, little spots dotting the feathers as a representation of his freckles.

After that night he found himself sketching them often, interacting like his team did. They were scribbled in the margins of his notes sometimes, squabbling or a disappointed looking Suga to encourage him to pay attention. He drew other things as well but he always came back to the crow team. He had at least a couple sketchbooks filled before much time had passed.

So he really should’ve seen it coming.

But as he saw Hinata crouched in a corner of the club room, flipping through something he was only confused. “Hinata?”

“Y-Yamaguchi!” he spun, hiding it behind his back and looking slightly guilty.

“What’re you looking at?” he frowned.

“Ah...there was this sketchbook on the floor, I was looking for a name or something…” he held it out slightly.

And Yamaguchi gasped as he realized he was looking at his own book. It must’ve fallen out of his bag when he was stuffing things into it on his way out.

Hinata blinked at his reaction “Is it yours?” he asked, awed.

“Y-yeah...don’t tell anyone?”

“Why not? It’s great!” he blinked slightly. “The crows are the team right?” he asked suddenly, grinning. “C’mon show me your favorites!” he was holding it out to him hopefully and he could only sigh and sit on the bench, Hinata joining him happily, leaning over his shoulder.

“I don’t really have favorites but…” he flipped through several pages, pointing out which crow was who. Hinata had guessed a fair few but was still hyper focused on what he was showing him.

“Yamaguchi you should show everyone! You’re so good!” Hinata insisted.

“No way! Not even Tsukki knows!” he shook his head.

Hinata gasped, “I’m the first?”

“Y-yeah…”

“I’m sorry I looked! I didn’t know whose it could’ve been. I should’ve stopped when I didn’t see a name but then I saw the crow that looks like Suga-san and I couldn’t help myself.”

“It’s okay Hinata. I’m glad you didn’t run around asking whose it was.”

“You should give it some real thought though! They’re really amazing and you can tell who they’re supposed to be but it doesn’t scream it at you!”

“I’ll think about it…for now it’s our little secret okay?”

Hinata’s eyes shined brightly, “Sure thing Yamaguchi! You should send me pics of them sometimes!” he added.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had Kiki on the brain when I was thinking about the crow drawings. I didn't mean to spend so much time on the crows themselves but what can you do.


	6. Day 6: Crossover//Favorite AU - Soul Eater

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only had a vague list of AUs to go off of, and I ended up with Soul Eater. And then it got away from me.

Yamaguchi wasn’t the most sought after meister. He wasn’t surprised with this either. However many desperate weapons came to him, trying to find a partner, any partner, that they could work with. None of them ever worked, their souls weren’t compatible.

He’d tried all kinds of weapons too, swords, knives, bows, a scythe (discussion of the outcome of that was met with detention), even a shield! He could use most of them, but they were heavy in his hands, slowing him down as he tried to move. He was running out of hope, he was sure he’d be kicked out soon if he didn’t find someone to be his partner. Even lord death had tried to find him a partner but it was hopeless.

At least he wasn’t causing as many troubles as the new kid that was partnered with Hinata. He’d heard, and felt, enough explosions to keep him far away when they were doing anything slightly dangerous. They’d taken out at least five walls in the past week.

Tsukishima at least had a partner. They worked pretty well together too, he always felt like a third wheel around the pair, so tried to keep his distance. It wasn’t hard with how often they were off on missions. He was sure his friend would be a death scythe in no time.

He just wanted a partner, was that too much to ask? He sighed as he laid his head on his hands. Maybe he should save everyone the trouble and just give up and go get a normal job. No partner meant no missions and no money and he was running out of savings as it was. He had a feeling Tsukishima knew it too, since he was treating him to lunches or dinners more often. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and he gave up after the sixth time he found food sitting on his bed. At least he didn’t have to worry about his rent, his parents were covering that for him. Until he got a partner and started doing missions. Which hadn’t happened. He felt worse as he thought of his parents, not getting mad at him, just continuing to pay his rent for him as he struggled to find his footing. At least they didn’t think he was lying when he told them he didn’t have a partner.

“Yamaguchi!”

He picked up his head, watching Hinata rush over from the door at the front of the class; the new kid not far behind him.

“I don’t think I’ve properly introduced you! This is Kageyama! Kageyama this is Yamaguchi! I’ve known him since elementary!”

The new kid — Kageyama — nodded at him and he nodded back.

“Do you want to come eat lunch with us?” Hinata grinned, holding out his hand to help pull him to his feet.

“I…suppose.” He took the hand and stood, sending Tsukishima a message as he followed the pair, quietly bickering. He was away on a mission anyway, he hoped he hadn’t distracted him with his message.

Hinata’s laugh pulled him back to the present, seeing Kageyama nudging him in the side with a smirk. Hinata hopped away, hiding behind Yamaguchi. “You wouldn’t hurt Yamaguchi to get to me would you?”

He seemed to seriously consider it for a moment before sighing. “Okay I’ll stop, get back here dumbass.”

“No way! Yamaguchi’s nicer!” he stuck out his tongue, staying at Yamaguchi’s side as they continued.

Kageyama huffed, rolling his eyes as he continued.

Hinata happily struck up conversation with Yamaguchi, “I still can’t believe we were compatible!” he laughed, “It was so hard to find someone, you and I have a similar wavelength so maybe we need to find you someone like Kageyama!”

“And break even more walls?” he couldn’t help but snicker.

“We’re getting better!” he blushed brightly. “And we’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you! You’ve been skipping meals Yamaguchi…” he frowned, “I’ve been worried about you.”

He flushed, awkwardly looking away. “I’ve been trying. Everyone’s too heavy.”

“I-I know!” he waved his hands, “Maybe we’ll get another new kid soon! Is there anyone you haven’t tried? That’s not partnered of course.”

He shrugged, “Maybe a few. Several that are partnered have even tried.” He sighed, “I don’t know whats wrong.”

He hummed slightly, “Maybe since they’re strangers you don’t really trust them? I don’t know if that can affect things but…”

“Ah…maybe…”

Hinata frowned at him, “There’s someone that’s partnered that you’d be good with isn’t there?”

His eyes widened and he shook his head frantically. “I-I don’t know. I’ve never tried with them before and they’re doing well with their partner, I wouldn’t want to mess things up for them.”

“Can’t be Tsukishima then.” Hinata sighed, “I was so sure…”

“What makes you say that?”

“You didn’t try Tsukishima first?” he blinked, “He’s a lot like Kageyama, so I think you’d mesh well.”

“I wanted to, but he said no.” He sighed.

“What the hell? I’m gonna go fight him!” Hinata huffed, “How dare he deny you the chance! I’m going to punch him next time I see him!”

“Hinata pleas don—”

“Your best friend wouldn’t give you a chance?” Kageyama entered the conversation. “Sounds like a pretty bad friend.”

“Bakeyama you can’t go around telling people their friends are shitty!” he smacked him in the arm. “He must’ve had a reason!”

“But saying you’ll beat them up is better?” Kageyama smirked at him. “Yamaguchi…you should ask him again.”

“Huh? Why?” he blinked in confusion, “There’s no reason for him to have changed his mind.”

He shifted uncomfortably at the stares he was getting. “I just…heard some things.”

“What things?” Hinata demanded. “And when?”

“When I first got here. I heard people talking about how some Tsukishima was having problems with his partner.” He muttered.

“H-huh?” he stared in confusion. He hadn’t heard anything like that from him.

“So maybe he might be willing to give you a chance.”

“Bakeyama! You should try with Yamaguchi!” Hinata suddenly exclaimed.

“What? No way dumbass I have one partner I don’t need two! How would that even work?!” he looked slightly panicked Yamaguchi noticed, eyes darting around and stiffening.

“C’mon just try!”

“Hinata, don’t try to force him to do something!” Yamaguchi found his voice, not wanting to ruin their partnership. Hinata had had as difficult a time as him. He didn’t want to put him back in his position.

“I’ll do it if that jerk won’t give him try.” He gave in, shaking Hinata off of his arm where he was trying to force them together.

Hinata just grabbed back on and nodded. “I’m going to keep you to that!” he huffed.

Kageyama blushed slightly, “I said I’d do it and I will!” he huffed.

“Okay, okay, let’s just enjoy lunch!” Hinata grinned as they entered a small cafe.

\-----

It was fun to watch the pair react. They were still very cautious around each other, trying not to cross an invisible line where they would actually hurt each other instead of the more teasing insults they exchanged. He was glad Hinata had found someone who could keep up with his endless energy, rising to meet him at every challenge. Which was why there were broken walls. But that was besides the point. He could see them becoming like Daichi and Suga in time. The pair were what every pair aspired to be, and went to them for help with finding their partners, or if they were having problems.

Well maybe people wouldn’t come to these two for help, but everyone would see how well they worked together and want to be as good as them. He’d never forgive himself if he tore them apart so he had to make Tsukishima try.

He was relaxing at home, waiting for Tsukishima to tell him he was back from his mission. It was getting late and if he didn’t hear something soon he might have to go to lord death’s room to watch him on the mirror to assure himself he was okay.

He was completely unprepared for his front door to slam open and make him jump across the room from the couch, he spun, unsure what he would do if it was a thief or something. Only to sigh in relief at the sight of the tall blond. “Tsukki! You scared the hell out of me!” he huffed. Then frowned at the lack of response. “Tsukki?” he walked forward hesitantly.

“Y-Yamaguchi…” he lifted his head to look at him.

He gasped, running forward. “Tsukki! What happened?” he was bleeding from somewhere on his head, covering his eyes and down his chin. “Oh my god why didn’t you go to a doctor?!” he spun in place trying to remember where the first aid kit was.

“Yamaguchi…” he grabbed his arm to stop him from running off.

“Tsukki, what are you doing let me clean you up!” he was terrified.

“I...wanted to tell you…”

“Tell me what?” he wanted him to spit it out so he would let him go get something to help him.

“I’m sorry…”

“Sorry? For what?” he was confused and worried and stressed.

“For not giving you a chance….”

“Oh Tsukki, it’s fine. It doesn’t matter, just let me patch you up, please?” he would beg if that’s what it took.

“I’m fine.”

“What happened?” he managed to snag a rag, dabbing at his face.

He sighed slightly, “Hinata got me.” he muttered.

The rag dropped from his hand. “W-what?” he was going to kill Hinata.

“He came up to me when he saw me and started yelling at me and then took his partner and…” he shrugged slightly.

“Hinata what the hell.” he muttered, picking the rag back up. “I’ll talk to him tomorrow. I’m so sorry!”

He grabbed his hand. “I deserved it.”

“What? No you didn’t Tsukki, don’t be ridiculous.” he tugged his hand back. “Where did he hit you?” he wasn’t even sure what kind of weapon Kageyama was, it hadn’t come up.

He shook his head slightly, “Yamaguchi, don’t worry about it.”

“You can’t just come into my house bleeding, tell me my friend did it, and tell me not to worry!” he huffed, dragging him to the couch and sitting him down, “Honestly Tsukki, you manage to not get hurt on missions, why didn’t you dodge or something.”

“Tadashi, listen to me.”

He blinked in shock at the use of his first name.

“I wasn’t fair to you. I...knew we’d probably be a good pair but…” he sighed slightly, “I was scared that we wouldn’t be so I didn’t want to try. I didn’t want to chance you getting hurt either. So I found someone I could work with and…”

“You were going to try and support me?” he finished frowning, “Tsukki I-”

“I know, you wouldn’t want me to do something like that.” he muttered, looking away, “I just...I started having nightmares about you getting hurt or dying...I didn’t want that to come true. Especially because of me. But I was hurting you anyway. I didn’t even realize it until I got screamed at at one in the morning and hit.”

He smiled slightly, “Tsukki, I worry about you getting hurt or dying too. It’s not just you. I want to protect you if I can. Will you give me a chance?”

He paused for a moment and nodded.

“Tomorrow though, come on and let me patch you up properly now.” he rolled his eyes, “How long have you been bleeding?” he’d finally uncovered the wound on his forehead. “It’ll probably scar now.”

“Couple hours.” he muttered, “I-”

“Tsukki, why didn’t you come straight here?” he sighed, “Or to your partner if you didn’t want to face me?”

“I called them and told them they’d need a new partner.”

“What? Tsukki you can’t just do that! What if we don’t work?” He couldn’t believe he’d do something as reckless as that.

“I won’t find a new one until you do.” he stated.

He sighed, what was he going to do with his best friend. “I appreciate it, but you don’t need to do something like that.”

He shrugged slightly. He knew neither of them would budge and it wasn’t worth it to keep fighting about it. “You can have my bed tonight, you look like you could use it.” he pushed him towards his room. “And clean off your face.” he’d put a bandage over the wound but he was still bloody.

“I can’t take your bed.” he shook his head.

“Sleep on the floor then I’m not sleeping anywhere but the couch.” he laid down on it, turning to get comfortable. He hoped this would force him to sleep in his bed. He was asleep quickly since he’d been half asleep before he showed up and now the panic was gone and he was exhausted.

\----

He wasn’t really aware when he woke up. He was awake but not enough to open his eyes, just twisting over. He blinked in confusion, what was so warm? His confusion managed to make him open his eyes only to come face to face with a sleeping Tsukishima. He nearly screamed but managed to hold it in. He looked around and realized they were both in his bed, a slightly tight squeeze. Luckily Tsukishima didn’t seem to have been bothered by his waking and he didn’t want to move away and of course, he was on the side by the wall. Probably to stop him from leaving and going back to the couch without waking him up.

He huffed, shifting and grumbling as his head hit the wall, closing his eyes as Tsukishima shifted in his sleep. After a few minutes he opened them again and slowly shifted to the foot of his bed making his way over his friends legs and sighing slightly as he stood up. He even found his phone plugged in at his bedside and shook his head with a smile, unplugging it and going back into the living room.

“Hinata. What do you think you’re doing making Tsukishima BLEED?!” he demanded angrily trying to keep his voice down.

“He was just staring at me like I was an idiot and I couldn’t help it. At least we didn’t cause an explosion again!”

He sighed slightly, “I guess there is that. But still, you said you’d punch him, not use Kageyama!” he huffed. “God he turned up at my house two hours later, blood all over his face. I thought he was dying Hinata.”

“Ahh I’m so sorry! I didn’t think he’d do something like that!” he sounded panicked and he could only sigh. Hinata was just trying to look out for him. “No more hitting people with Kageyama just because they’re being dumb.” he muttered.

“Y-yeah of course. Especially with the explosions.”

“If you blew him up Kageyama would’ve needed a new partner.” he said with a smile.

“Yamaguchi you’re doing that creepy smile that tells me to run for my life aren’t you?”

“I will get you back.”

“I said sorry!” he squeaked and he could hear Kageyama in the background.

He sighed, “Fine, you can have a pass just this once.”

“I really am sorry! He was egging Kageyama on at first and I was pissed off at him for that still.”

That did sound like something Tsukishima would do. “How about you try to figure out why there wasn’t an explosion that time, focus on that."

“Okay! Have a good day Yamaguchi! Good luck with Tsukishima!” he hung up before he could rethink it and yell at him more.

Yamaguchi sighed and put his phone down, going to the kitchen to make breakfast, wondering when Tsukishima would wake up.

He didn’t have to wait too long before he stumbled out, frowning at him. “How’d you get out without me?”

“Slowly.” he snickered, “I can’t believe you carried me to bed and trapped me in it.”

He yawned shrugging. “I wasn’t going to let you sleep on the couch.”

He laughed slightly, “Sit down I’m almost done.” he gestured to the table.

“What do you want to do today?”

“Well after breakfast we should see if we can partner, and then I need to go give Hinata at least a bruise.” he hummed, “After that I’m open to ideas.”

He blinked at him in sleepy confusion.

“We’ll talk after breakfast. You’re not a morning person.” he laughed slightly. “Aaaannnd done.” he grinned, bringing it to the table.

They ate without talking as Tsukishima slowly woke up enough and remembered what he said. “You’re gonna hurt Hinata?”

“Just a little bit. He made you bleed.”

“Do you know what his partner is?”

“No actually, I keep far away when they’re doing things together, since there’s usually a lot of explosions.” he laughed slightly.

“Some kind of sword.”

“...how does he explode?” he was staring at his friend in shock. “I mean a sword...exploding? Plus Hinata?” the thought was rather terrifying.

“I don’t know, they started arguing after that and I got out of there before he went after me again.”

Yamaguchi snickered, “You ran away from Hinata?” he teased.

“I didn’t feel like getting blown up.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.” he smiled at him.

They went to the school before Tsukishima shifted into a scythe, forming in Yamaguchi’s hand. He gripped him firmly, giving a small swing and blinked at how light he was. Unlike the last scythe he’d attempted. He smiled suddenly, spinning around on the spot. “Tsukki!” he was giggling, “You’re so light!” he felt on top of the world as he jumped around, slicing at the air. “This is so cool!” he didn’t know it could feel like this. Like an easy extension of his arm, not a battle.

Tsukishima chuckled slightly, “I’m glad.”

He held him out in front of him, looking him over. “You’re amazing Tsukki.”

“You’re the amazing one Tadashi.” the metal was pleasantly warm against his hands, and he couldn’t resist spinning it around.

“No way, I’m not a cool weapon like you, who will be a true death scythe some day.”

“Yamaguchi!” Hinata’s voice rang across the courtyard as he ran over. “Is that Tsukishima?!” he was bouncing in front of him, a long thin sword hanging in his hand.

He nodded slightly, “He’s so…” he giggled again.

“Ah I’m so happy for you!” he jumped into the air. “It feels so cool right? Like he’s part of you! I can’t wait to see what you can do with him with some training!”

Yamaguchi suddenly smirked and spun Tsukishima around to bop Hinata in the forehead with the butt of the pole. “That’s for hurting him.”

Hinata whined, rubbing his forehead. “Owww Yamaguchiiii!” Kageyama reformed next to him, pulling his hand away to peer at his forehead.

“You’ll bruise. Your skull is too thick for it to have caused any real harm.”

Yamaguchi snickered as Tsukishima reformed next to him. “If you two lovebirds are done, we have to go tell the teachers.” he grabbed Yamaguchi’s hand, going between the pair into the school.

“See you around Yamaguchi!” Hinata waved after them, wide smile back on his face. “Isn’t it great Kageyama?!” he bounced eagerly. “C’mon I wanna practice with you so we can dual with them without causing explosions!” he held out his hand, eyes shining brightly.

He huffed slightly but grabbed his hand, shifting as he did so. 


	7. Third Year//College

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized I never posted the last chapter so here it is. I resisted the urge to reread it and edit, so I'm sorry for any issues. Based off of Emuyh's third year AU.

A lot had changed in two years. Tsukishima and Hinata had become friends, and Tsukishima and Kageyama’s insults turned into banter more than true insults. Yamaguchi himself had easily gotten along with Hinata, though it took sometime to truly connect with his vice-capitan, Kageyama.

He still remembered the day Ennoshita had told him he wanted him to be the next capitain. He’d been shocked to his core.

“You’re the only real option, Hinata wouldn’t be stern enough with them, and Kageyama and Tsukishima are going to scare them. It’s just a bonus you’re the most suited to it.” he’d smiled at him, “You’re already great with the current first years, they look up to you and listen to you, you might as well be my vice.” he’d patted his back at his continued shocked espresssion. “I mean sure the other three can teach them, but they’re drawn to you and they don’t like to make you disapointed so they’ll listen to you.”  
He’d finally managed to find his voice and thanked him for wanting him to be captain. It had been hard to pick his vice captain. Hinata could cheer them up and inspire them to work harder, and Tsukki had gotten better, and had been the one to get many of the first years to join. He could be charming when he wanted to be. Kageyama though, he had the most volleyball sense and while awkward around them, they listened to him attentively, probably knowing how good he was at the game and wanting to become as good.

He thought they made a good pair of captains. Even if Kageyama had made the new firsties all laugh at him. He couldn’t believe Kageyama had just come up and told them to listen to their ‘mamaguchi’.

Of course it wasn’t just the first years, the rest of the team was laughing.

Hinata had eagerly jumped foward going on about how he was like Sugawara-san, a great team mom!

He had the most embarassing third years.

Kageyama had gotten serious after that and gave them a brief lecture about how they played seriously, not for fun, and then went off to practice his jump serves, making several wide eyed first years jump at the power in it.

Yamaguchi could only shake his head.

Looking back on it now it’d been a good introduction to that part of the team.

\-----

Tsukshima and hinata were only slightly surprised when they realized they had become close friends. The third years in general were fiercly protective of each other, but when they realized how close friends they’d become they’d laughed and blamed Yamaguchi.

Plus they had bonded over how well puberty had treated their best friends. Hinata’s only real change was an undercut, and Tsukshima had just gotten taller. Yamaguchi had finally grown into his long limbs and gained self confidence which made him stick out more. He’d also gotten tattoos and piercings. Tsukishima had been speechless for 20 minutes when he saw the crows across his side and back. Hinata had likewise been speechless when Kageyama had smiled, he swore he could hear angels singing in the background to this day.

They also had bonded over their very strong crushes on their best friends. Mutually complaining about how attractive they’d become. ‘Did you see Kageyama smile?’ ‘Did you see Tadashi’s tatto?’

The former comment had lead to a memorible day where Tsukishima had waited by the door with a smirk and the second Kageyama entered, had thrown sakura petals over him as his phone started playing Sakura Kiss while staring directly at Hinata.

Kageyama had stared at him for a full minute while Yamaguchi tried to calm Hinata down because Kageayama had been smilling as he entered and the openening line of the song combined with that had sent his heart hammering, trying to leap out of his chest.

Tsukishima had snivkered and continued to do it whenever he felt like it. Kageyama eventually got used to it and just shrugged slightly when the soing played as he entered.

Hinata had also complained he never managed to take a non-blurry picture of Kageyama, which resulted in Tsukishima dragging Yamaguchi into taking pictures of Kageyama after Hinata pissed him off one day.

Kageyama was ridiculously photogenic. Somehow. They’d snapped a dozen pictures and he looked attractive in every single one, even when he was yelling at Hinata or throwing him around a bit.

The pair had found themselves blushing and when Hinata finally got to look at them he’d straight up fainted.

He’d also been very jealous when a setter had joined the club and Kageyama had immediately jumped at the chance to train him. He’d spent a week barely tossing to Hinata and Tsukishima had taken it upon himself to have a ‘talk’ with Kageyama. (In reality he just told him he was neglecting the queen of the court and would he stop so he could stop hearing about it?)

Yamaguchi could only shake his head at his teams antics throughout it all. He was quite pleased that Tsukki was getting along with Kageyama and Hinata though, and he was good with the kouhai too, when he felt like it.

Not that their old senpai where any better. They’d shown up to their first practice game of the year, Tsukishima and Kageyama had been embarassed, Hinata had been estatic, and Yamaguchi had been a mix.

\----

Which brought them to today, another practice match. They were trailing, but not by much. Yamaguchi paused to wipe off his face, “Let’s turn this around.” he said firmly.

“Naturally.” Kageyama replied, resting his hands on his knees briefly, studying the other team.

He could see Hinata bouncing in the warm up zone, waiting to get back into the game, going between watching closely and talking to his kouhai, pointing out things that were happening.

He glanced at Tsukishima, he could see the dark circles under his eyes still and could only sigh, he’d stayed up all night watching games again. Nothing to do about that at the moment, he’d get mad at him after they won.

\-----

He looked around his team with a sigh, the kouhai looked particualrly down, he just had to come up with something to say…

“We can’t win them all.”

His head shot to look at Tsukishima, and he wasn’t the only one.

“He’s right, we need the reminder that we have to keep improving, we can’t just be happy with our current level.” Kageyama added with a nod.

“So don’t dwell on it, we’ll beat them next time!” Hinata piped up, jumping in between their kouhai. “You all did very well!”

“It was a close match, amd we’re still adjusting as a team. We’ll get better by the turnament.” Yamaguchi grinned, “This just means none of you will be skipping out on flying falls right?” he asked, pleasently but with a hint of Daichi’s anger leaking through.

“R-right!” they chorused.

Hinata nodded, “We can do it!”

“Now, Tsukishima, didn’t we have a talk about you staying up?” Kageyama frowned, hands on his hips.

Tsukishima huffed, looking away.

Hinata gasped, “You did it again? Tsukishima!” he huffed indigintely, running around to be in his line of sight. “You can’t go around doing that and fainting again!” he demanded.

“I wasn’t up that late.” he muttered.

“You should listen to Kagepapa!”

Tsukishima’s head snapped around, looking into the crowd of kouhai, trying to figure out who said that.

“Kagepapa?” Kageyama repeated, confused.

Hianta was snickering, and jumped over to nudge him, “You’re the new Daichi!”

“But I’m not with Yamaguchi. How can I be Daichi?”

Yamaguchi was blushing brightly, “On the bus!” he ordered, pointing at the door.

There was gurmbling as everyone got on the bus, and he took a seat up front next to Tsukishima. “Sleep Tsukki.” he ordered as he went to put on his headphones. “No pretending to sleep but actually listening to music.” he added, frowning at him.

“Tsukshima-senpai’s the problem child.” this comment was met with snickers.

“You’re all problem children!” Yamaguchi shot back.

“Uwa, even Kageyama?” Hinata asked, poking his head over the seat.

He frowned, looking at Kageyama. “I suppose not.” he said finally. He didn’t cause nearly as many troubles as he used to.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to do something involving Noya, and I promise I'll be less mean to Yamaguchi on the other days.


End file.
